Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan has confirmed his ministry’s determination to stop exam fraud and the pursuit of exaggerated achievements in the national education system on the occasion of the new school year, starting September 5.

Vietnam’s estimated 22 million pupils and students began the new school year on September 5. This year’s primary tasks of the education sector will be to focus on better quality of teaching and combating negative phenomena and achievement problems.

Many overseas Vietnamese, particularly in France, have followed with keen interest their home country’s positive developments in recent years. They are elated at the drastic changes taking place every day and every hour in the country.

The Vietnamese legal system has so far met most compulsory regulations stipulated in the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), said Head of the Institute of Science and Inspection Nguyen Van Thanh at a seminar to review the results of study on the UNCAC contents held recently by the Government Inspectorate.

UK magazine The Guardian in its recent issue ran an article by John Aglionby saying that Ben Thanh market in Ho Chi Minh City is becoming a new retail hotspot in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam and Germany have committed to cooperate in fighting organised crime, particularly in preventing terror, children and women trafficking, and illicit drug trading.

Evaluation reports from international organizations show that hunger eradication and poverty reduction is one of Vietnam’s great achievements during its Doi Moi (renewal) process. But, in the 2006-2010 period, Vietnam’s poverty reduction programme will face no less challenges than before.

A 24-member Vietnamese delegation will take part in the 6th ASEAN Skills Competition in Brunei from September 3-12.

Vietnam has gained achievements in improving children’s health in recent years, said UNICEF’s Nutrition Section Chief in Vietnam Ms Maniza Zaman.

While the Government has issued urgent telegrams asking cities and provinces to brace themselves for a possible recurrence of bird flu and foot-and-mouth disease, illegal trading in poultry which rests with certain segments of the population, may lead to a bird flu recurrence.

Around 120 Vietnamese and Chinese children, government officials and representatives from UNICEF Vietnam and UNCEF China and other international organisations have recently attended a forum on preventing trafficking in woman and children.

The consultative committee on Man and Biosphere has agreed to the proposed Kien Giang Biosphere Reserves, the Kien Giang provincial People’s Committee reported on August 30.

Ceremonies were held at detention camps across the country from August 29-30 to announce the State President’s decision to grant amnesty to 5,352 inmates who have performed well during their prison terms.

The Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the Save the Children US co-organised a workshop to disseminate the WHO/UNICEF Regional Child Survival Strategy in Hanoi on August 30.

A big conference on the quality of tertiary education will be held in 2007, announced Vice Minister of Education and Training Banh Tien Long at a meeting in Hanoi on August 30 with representatives from 120 northern universities and colleges.

Vietnam is willing to share experiences and provide assistance to Laos in poverty reduction, healthcare, and mother and child care and protection, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung.

Australia's leading daily newspaper, the Age, in its August 26 edition ran an article written by Connie Levett on the consequence of Agent Orange in Vietnam.

All relevant agencies and localities must cooperate to prevent illegal poultry trafficking across borders and tighten control over the incubation and outdoor husbandry of water fowl, particularly in the Mekong Delta.

The Presidential Office held a press conference in Hanoi on August 28 to announce the State President’s decision to grant amnesty to 5,352 prisoners, including six foreign inmates, on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the National Day (September 2).

Vietnamese and Chinese children raised their voices against trafficking in woman and children across the border and made recommendations for preventing the trafficking through exchanges and dialogues with government leaders at a forum in Hanoi on August 28.

The draft convention will be adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its September session and will then be open for countries to sign.

More than three million young people and volunteer students across the country have been participating in the 2006 summer volunteer campaign. They have joined hands with people to implement more than 32,500 projects worth VND33 billion, helping improve infrastructure facilities at localities.

Located in Ba Vi district, northern Ha Tay province, the Labour and Education Centre No 2 under the Hanoi Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs cares for nearly 1,300 drug addicts, prostitutes and people living with HIV/AIDS. It is also the only place in the north to care for orphans and HIV-infected children who were abandoned by their parents.

Vietnam eliminated iodine deficiency among its citizens last year, said the Ministry of Health at a symposium in Hanoi on August 25 to review 10 years of the National Programme of Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control.

Vietnamese and Lao authorities and experts have agreed to tighten customs procedures to discover and control ozone depleting substances (ODS) from import-export activities through bordergates.

The Vietnam Urban Association opened its second congress in Hanoi on August 25 to set objectives for further expanding its foreign relationships and enhancing its members’ capability.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) signed in Hanoi on August 24 an agreement under which the USTDA will grant US$351,000 in technical assistance to the CAAV to improve aviation safety in Vietnam in keeping with international standards.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said he hopes that the Public Health Ministries of Vietnam and Laos would promote cooperation and exchange of experience in hospital management, pharmaceutical production and personnel training.

Flash flood warning stations will be set up in five northern mountainous provinces which are prone to disasters: Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai and Yen Bai.

Vietnam and Laos have agreed to cooperate in combating human avian influenza and new infectious diseases.