(VOV) - A Swiss-funded project to improve public service provision in agriculture and rural development is underway in the northern mountainous province of Hoa Binh.

(VOV) -A January 3 ceremony in the northern Lao northern province of Udomsay inaugurated a TV and radio broadcasting station built with official Vietnamese development assistance funding.

(VOV) - Da Nang Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital is promoting proper hand hygiene practices in its neonatal care unit.

(VOV) - Vietnam’s estimated 15 million smokers placed it among the 15 heaviest smoking nations in a 2010 global survey.

(VOV) - Heavy lift vessel Rolldock Sea successfully delivered its Hanoi Kilo-636 submarine to Cam Ranh Bay on January 3.

(VOV) -Foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses in the southern province of Dong Nai plan to employ about 120,000 workers for expanded projects in the next two years.

(VOV) - Vietnamese people will have the chance to watch Quadrantids, one of the strongest meteor showers of the year, on January 4.

The Dao-heuang Group led by overseas Vietnamese Le Thi Luong has inaugurated a department of obstetrics in Champassak provincial hospital, Laos.

Party committees at all levels are required to implement the Party and State’s policy on thrift practice and anti-wastefulness under a recently approved official document as the 2014 Lunar New Year is drawing near.

Hundreds of Vietnamese students will be sent abroad for nuclear power training courses in preparation for the operation of Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Plants 1 & 2, set to be operational by 2020, according to the Vietnam Atomic Energy Agency.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has requested relevant ministries and localities to intensify food safety inspections, especially when the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) festival is approaching.

(VOV) - The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the southern province of Dong Nai will jointly host a Vietnam Forest Festival, the first of its kind in the country, in November 2014.

(VOV) - Tan Son Nhat International Airport’s Customs Department has seized 4.68kg of cocaine and drug precursors during routine inspections conducted at the end of 2013.

(VOV) - Although Vietnam has carried out three post-1945 education reforms, many of its policies are now outdated, inspiring public concern.

(VOV) -A German organisation will support Tien Giang province’s implementation of a new approach to connecting cooperatives in a network that maximises opportunity and efficiency.

(VOV) - A section of the HCM City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Highway, linking HCM City’s District No9 to Highway 51 in Dong Nai province’s Long Thanh district opened to traffic on January 2.

(VOV) The southern province of Ben Treheld a ceremony to mark the 55th anniversary of Cuba’s National Day (January 1) in LuongHoa commune, GiongTrom district, on January 1. 

(VOV) -Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Tran Anh Tuan signed a cooperation agreement on personnel training with Israel’s Interdisciplinary Centre (IDC) Herzliya during its working trip to Israel from December 28-31.

(VOV) - On January 3, Hanoi Kilo 636 submarine will be launched to sea and  anchor in national waters, marking its first official operation.

In 2014, Hanoi will focus on taking various measures to raise the efficiency of fire prevention and fighting and rescue work in a bid to reduce the total number of fires by 5 – 10 percent against last year’s figure.

Six more streets in Hanoi’s Old Quarter will be zoned off for walkers every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night from January 2014.

The Vietnamese language will be added to curricula at Lao schools and other education facilities built by the overseas Vietnamese (OV) community in the country next year.

A survey conducted by the Hanoi Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs shows that more than 160 units and businesses in the capital will maintain Lunar New Year (Tet) bonuses for their employees despite economic difficulties.

(VOV) - Rescue workers managed to rescue all passengers aboard a severely deformed coach following an accident in Dong Nai province on December 31.

(VOV) - The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced 902 people, 899 of whom have resided in Vietnam for at least 20 years, were granted Vietnamese citizenship in 2013.

(VOV) - The National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) reports 2013 saw a total of 29,385 traffic accidents that killed 9,369 people and caused 29,500 injuries.

(VOV) - Foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have committed a total of US$250 million in aid to Vietnam’s development projects in 2013.

(VOV) - Ho Chi Minh City Customs seized 4.8kg of drug precursors following a goods inspection on December 26.

(VOV) - The Republic of Korea will soon resume receiving Vietnamese guest workers following the signing of a special memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Seoul on December 31.

(VOV) - Malaysian police raided three massage parlours in Setapak on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur late last week, rescuing 35 foreign women, comprising 10 Chinese, 10 Philippine, 12 Thai and three Vietna­mese.