Fifteen volunteers from US high schools are building three charity houses near the site of a former battlefield in the central province of Quang Ngai as part of a programme conducted by the Vermont-based organisation Putney Student Travels.

The Vietnamese Government requested that registration of marriages between Vietnamese and foreigners be rejected if any sign of illegal brokerage is detected from an interview of the applicants.

The bird flu epidemic has been effectively controlled since December 2005. However, Head of the Central Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Quang Anh says this does not mean that the epidemic will not recur, especially when the epidemic season is now approaching. VOVNews interviewed Mr Anh about the issue.

In a recent interview granted to Family & Society (Gia Dinh & Xa Hoi) newspaper, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Hang spoke about “paying debts of gratitude” to families of policy beneficiaries and fallen combatants in anticipation of the 60th anniversary of the War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27) next year.

The deal was re-signed following a previous signing on June 2, 2004 under the Employment Permit System (EPS) which was approved by the RoK National Assembly in August 2003.

More than 2,000 items relating to soldiers arrested and imprisoned during the war are on display at a private museum in Nam Quat village of northern Ha Tay province. The museum’s owner is Lam Van Bang, a war veteran.

The World Bank (WB) will provide a preferential loan of US$70 million help develop health care services in the Mekong Delta. An agreement to this effect was signed in Hanoi on July 24 by Le Duc Thuy, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), and Klaus Rohland, World Bank Country Director for Vietnam.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Vietnamese Government on July 24 signed an agreement on granting US$20 million to help Vietnam reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS among youth.

To achieve the set target of planting five million hectares of forest in the 1998-2010 period, an additional 500 hectares of forest must be planted annually from now till 2010. However, in spite of the afforestation progress in the 1998-2005 period, it seems difficult to successfully complete the project as scheduled.

Vietnamese and American scientists on July 24 gathered in Hanoi for a forum to explore scientific approaches to sustainable development and new university model.

The central province of Thua Thien-Hue has so far this year carried out 51 projects valued at US$2.68 million, using non-refundable aid from non-governmental organisations. The figure represents an annual increase of 34 percent.

Hanoi will have to cope with tense pressure from its daily growing unemployed and unskilled population. By 2010, Hanoi's population is forecasted to reach 3.7 million people, of whom nearly 2.4 million will be in working age, 900,000 more than the current figure. Each year, around 100,000 labourers need jobs.

Nearly 400 Vietnamese heroic mothers, Agent Orange victims and people who rendered great services to the nation have received free healthcare, according to the Vietnam Red Cross Society (VNRC).

The visiting Lao Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sitaheng Latsaphone has asked Vietnam to continue assisting Laos in the planning of forestry, aquaculture, and production of animal and plant seeds, and personnel training.

Vietnam and the US have signed an agreement on health and medical science to further boost co-operation on health issues, including emerging diseases, avian and pandemic influenza and HIV/AIDS.

Tsunamis caused by earthquakes do not threaten the Vietnamese coastline, as it is guarded by regional island masses, according to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Xuyen, director of the Institute of Geophysics under the National Centre for Natural Sciences and Technology.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs will focus on perfecting place importance on perfecting a legal system with preferences for people who have rendered meritorious services to the revolution, as part of its programme of action to mark the 60th War Invalids' and Fallen Combatants' Day (July 27).

Buddhism elements in traditional arts were discussed at a workshop held in northern Ha Tay province on July 20 with the aim of promoting the conservation of national cultural values amid an increasing trend of globalisation and integration.

Raising the women's role in socio-economic performance and political decision making is one of the objectives of the 2002-2010 action plan discussed at the annual conference of the Vietnam Committee for the Advancement of Women on July 20.

According to the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, by the morning July 20, a total of 12 people in the provinces of Bac Kan, Vinh Phuc and Lang Son were reported dead or missing compared to July 19 which saw one child being carried away by floods.

More boys were born than girls in some cities and provinces across Vietnam, according to recent surveys by the Population, Family and Children Science Institute.

Municipal and provincial sub-committees for solidarity of Catholics need concrete and uniform instructions as well as favourable conditions to effectively boost patriotic movements among the Catholics.

Vice State President Truong My Hoa on July 19 received a delegation of 41 young overseas Vietnamese coming from 19 countries attending the Vietnam Summer Camp 2006.

The French Overseas Educational Agency (AEPE) on July 19 signed a contract to lease 25,000sq. m in HCM City to build the French-speaking Collette School.

More than 40 representatives of overseas Vietnamese youths residing in 19 countries attended the opening ceremony of the 2006 Summer Camp at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on July 19.

Ha Pham Doan Trang and Huynh Kim Phong from Ho Chi Minh City and Nguyen Thi Thu Hanh from Hanoi have gained three full scholarships, worth US$10,000 each, from the Singaporean government.

An automatic process of forecasting hydrometeorology in the East Sea has been designed for the first time by Vietnamese scientists, said a hydrometeorologist.

US specialists began a follow-up training course on drug control in HCM City on July 17 for drug enforcement task forces and police officers from 16 southern provinces and cities.

Storms and floods which are expected to hit Vietnam in August will bring heavy rains to force water levels in the rovers, especially in the northern and central regions to rise sharply.

Vietnamese students have won two gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the 47th International Maths Olympiads held in Slovenia.