Activities in support of disabled people have gained remarkable achievements in recent times, thus improving living conditions for the disabled and affirming their important role in socio-economic development.

To cope with spread of bird flu outbreaks, provinces and cities nationwide are actively carrying out the first phase of this year’s vaccination campaign for 139 million fowls.

An online chorus programme will be held on June 17 to support Agent Orange (AO) victims, one day before the first oral argument of a lawsuit filed by Vietnamese AO sufferers is heard before the US Court of Appeals in New York.

The Overseas Vietnamese community in the US has been successfully integrating into everyday life and securing remarkable positions in the political life of the US, said Vietnamese Consul-General in San Francisco Tran Tuan Anh in a recent interview granted to VOVNews.

Established in Vietnam in March 2006, the Korea Environment & Resources Corporation’s rep. office has made significant contributions to promoting environmental cooperation between the two countries. Chief representative Jung Gun Young talked about the office’s activities in an interview granted to VOV.

This year’s Vietnam Innovation Competition has drawn more than 200 entries from across the country; 49 of them have been selected for its final round to take place on June 14 and 15.

Vietnam’s sexual and reproductive health education project has won the 2007 Global Development Marketplace Award worth US$185,000, announced Martin Rama, the World Bank’s Lead Economist, at a press conference in Hanoi on June 13.

On June 12, northern Hung Yen province announced a new bird flu outbreak at a farm in Khoai Chau town. More than 400 out of 800 ducks died on June 7 but its was not until June 11 that local authorities officially reported that the ducks had died as a result of being infected with H5N1 virus.

The Vietnamese government will apply drastic measures to stamp out drug trafficking and reduce the number of drug addicts in its communities.

The World Bank held a seminar in Da Nang city on June 12 to assess Vietnam’s Innovation Day (VID) programme after four years of operation.

In the first four months of the year, more than 4,739 people died and 4,000 others were injured in 5,269 traffic accidents. On average, around 13,000 people die of traffic accidents in Vietnam each year.

“We will phone the US Embassy in London on June 18 and demand that the US President and chemical companies not wait till that day, but accept the responsibility and make moves to pay compensation,” said Len Aldis, Secretary of the Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society in an interview with VOVNews.

Vietnam’s first person to be hospitalized with bird flu in over 17 months was discharged from Bach Mai Hospital’s Active Treatment Ward on June 11.

Researchers, practitioners and entrepreneurs from Asia and other regions who are involved in non-timber forest products (NTFP) initiatives began a four-day conference in Hanoi on June 11 to assess the role of NTFPs in poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation.

Doctors at the National Hospital of Paediatrics in Hanoi have performed a bone marrow transplant on an eight-year-old-boy, the third operation of its kind at the hospital.

More than 3,000 volunteers from 40 universities, colleges and social youth unions in Hanoi took part in the launch of the summer programme on June 10 to help students prepare for their university entrance exams.

The Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reported three new bird flu outbreaks in Can Tho city in the south and Ha Nam province in the north on June 9 and 10.

The Government has decided to disburse VND770 billion (US$48 million) from the State budgets from now till 2010 for vocational training and job generation in the Mekong Delta.

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), a non-profit public broadcasting television service in the US, has screened footage on the consequences of Agent Orange/Dioxin sprayed by the US army during the war in Vietnam.

The Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported on June 9 that bird flu is still spreading across the country.

Vietnam and France have agreed to build a partnership in a bid to enhance and develop bilateral cooperation in water resources and anti-pollution methods in Vietnam.

More than 400 people with disabilities from Vietnam, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Philippines began a four-day exchange programme in Hanoi on June 8.

The Swiss government has pledged to donate US$248,800 to help train Vietnamese officials in combating zoonotic and animal diseases and ensuring food safety.

In the coming time, the education sector should expand international cooperation so that Vietnam’s tertiary education can catch up with regional and international universities, thus increasing its position and prestige in the international arena, said Deputy Minister of Education and Training Tran Van Nhung.

To date, bird flu has been detected in 63 communes, 33 districts of 15 provinces and cities and the epidemic is threatening to break out on a large scale and carries a high risk of transmitting from poultry to humans.

Better governance is needed to adequately address Vietnam’s environmental concerns, according to the World Conservation Union’s new plan on balancing Vietnam’s economic and environmental demands.

There is growing public concern about sauces containing excessive amounts of the carcinogen 3-MCPD. According to Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Cao Quang Minh, the Health Ministry is urging relevant agencies to inspect, examine, recall and destroy all sauces failing to meet necessary hygiene standards.

The Libyan Committee for Housing and Infrastructure Management will sign a contract with the Vietnam Construction Import-Export Corporation (Vinaconex) to recruit over 4,000 Vietnamese workers.

Minister-Chairwoman of the National Committee for Population, Family and Children Le Thi Thu presented Plan Vietnam Director Deepali Khanna with the insignia “For the Family, Child and Population” in Hanoi on June 7.

Five Vietnamese students came top of the list of graduates from the public high schools in Boston, Massachusetts in the 2006-2007 school year.