World Trade Organisation (WTO) entry and its impacts on health care is the theme of a two-day seminar which opened in Hanoi on November 27.

Senior police officers across South East Asia are meeting in Hanoi to discuss technical issues relating to the electronic ASEANAPOL Database System (e-ADS) that was launched at a conference in Kuala Lumpur in May, 2006.

Delegates attending a recent seminar in Hanoi demonstrated their resolve to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in Vietnam and called for closer cooperation and further assistance from non-governmental organisations to curb the pandemic.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Health and Russia’s Ministry of Health and Social Development agreed to enhance cooperation in staff training, pharmaceutical production, prevention of infectious diseases and exchange visits.

The IT Faculty of Hanoi University of Technology (HUT) has signed an agreement with Oracle Vietnam to incorporate the Oracle Academy's (OA) Advanced Computer Science & Business programme into its education curriculum.

A meeting was held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 25 for the upcoming World AIDS Day (December 1) launching a campaign to prevent HIV/AIDS from spreading.

Representatives of publishers' associations across the South East Asian region have gathered in Hanoi for an annual conference aimed at boosting cooperation in ASEAN's publishing industry.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) signed in Hanoi on November 23 an agreement on cooperation in administrative reform. The UNDP will also help localities build and operate 13 rural information centres.

Radio Moscow broadcast a live programme on Vietnam’s land and people on November 23 with the participation of journalists and Vietnamese correspondents.

A get-together on the friendly and cooperative relations between Vietnam and Canada was held in Hanoi on November 23 to welcome a business delegation from Ontario, Canada.

A programme to raise people's awareness of maternal and child health (MCH) through MCH handbooks with funds from Japan's Children Supporting Society has paid off in Vietnam, assessed a four-day international symposium being held in southern Ben Tre province.

Scientists have found a number of new species of fauna and flora, including rare species of cyprinida, bat and orchid, in some national parks across Vietnam.

The Nha Trang Institute of Vaccines and Biological Products has announced its successful production of 5,000 doses of H5N1 vaccine for humans from chicken embryos.

The World Bank (WB) will continue to cooperate with the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) in developing a detailed plan for the second phase of tertiary and primary education projects in Vietnam, according to a WB expert.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet has sent a message of congratulation to the Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRCS)’s staff members and volunteers on its 60th founding anniversary.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on November 21 sent condolences to families of the victims of the whirlwinds and hailstorms in Ha Long city, northern Quang Ninh province.

Representatives of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee and the National Youth Council of Singapore held talks in Hanoi on November 20 to discuss the content of a cooperative agreement between the two countries’ young people, which will be signed in 2007.

The Vietnam Red Cross (VNRC) has mobilised financial assistance to help millions of people in need and millions of families escape hunger and poverty over the past 60 years, said the society's chairman.

The Vietnamese embassy, in cooperation with the Vietnam Science-Technology Association in Russia, held an exchange on communal cultural education to mark Vietnamese Teachers’ Day (November 20).

The Industry Ministry on November 18 conferred the badge "For the Industrial Cause in Vietnam" on 34 veteran German experts for their hard-working in the early days of building an industrial college.

Chile wants to share experiences with Vietnam in developing women’s rights, assured the Chilean President Michelle Bachelet during an exchange with Vietnamese female delegates in Hanoi on November 18.

Pierrick Fillon-Ashida, Policy Officer of International Cooperation at the European Commission Directorate-General for Research, said Vietnam is successful in the 6th European Union (EU) Framework Programme for Research Cooperation (FP6).

Many charitable concerts are being held in France by the Paris-based Association for Dioxin-affected Children in Vietnam (ADCV) and the International Committee for Support of Vietnamese AO Victims with the aim of raising funds for Vietnamese AO/dioxin-affected children.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on combating transnational drug-related crime was signed in Hanoi on November 16 between the Vietnam Ministry of Public Security (MPS) and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment plans to pour US$18.2 million into protecting the environment of Hanoi in 2007.

The Washington Post on its November 13 edition published photos and an article on Agent Orange/Dioxin in Vietnam, saying the US and Vietnam are cooperating in addressing the consequences of the past war.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has affirmed that the murder case of Vietnamese student Vu Anh Tuan in St. Petersburg has not yet closed and that all documents relating to the case will be transferred to the Supreme Court of Russia.

A delegation of the Inter European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (IEPEFD) will visit Vietnam from November 23-25, announced the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on November 14.

"The State and people of Vietnam have always placed importance on the protection, care and education of children, including underprivileged and street children," spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Dung said, describing the work as "the responsibility of the State, the society and every family" and as "the tradition and morale of the Vietnamese nation."

A US$20,000 project on accident and injury prevention, funded by the US non-governmental organisation Counterpart International has got off the ground in five communes and wards in Nha Trang city, central Khanh Hoa province.