More than 700,000 people have signed the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/AOVN, to support Vietnamese AO/dioxin victims’ lawsuit against US chemical producers that churned out toxic chemicals for the US army during the war in Vietnam.

Buddhist monks, nuns and followers in the northern province of Vinh Phuc have been decorating all 443 pagodas in the province with banners and flowers to welcome visitors on the occasion of the 2,551st birthday of Lord Buddha (according to the Buddhist calendar).

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Cao Duc Phat has sent an urgent message to the country's poultry industry, saying that all water fowl must either be immediately vaccinated or culled.

Children between six and 36 months old and young mothers will be provided with vitamin A and iron pills during the nationwide Micro-nutrition Day Campaign on June 1-2.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Ba Bong has said that a failure to strictly follow regulations on vaccinations, egg-hatching and the transport of poultry and related products was the main cause of the recent widespread recurrence of bird flu.

More than 1 million 12th graders across the country will sit their graduation exams between May 30 and June 1. In three days, they will take exams on literature, physics, history, chemistry, maths, and either foreign languages or geography.

Mekong Delta provinces are implementing the first phase of a project to improve local healthcare services, with a total cost of US$85 million. US$70 million of this total will come from a World Bank loan and a US$5 million grant from the Japanese Government.

The German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and representatives from Ha Tinh and Tra Vinh provinces signed an agreement on May 28 to provide technical assistance to a project on improving market participation by the poor in these provinces.

My-Le Jacqueline Duong, an American of Vietnamese descent, has been appointed to judgeship of the Santa Clara County Superior Court in the US State of California by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

It is necessary to inform guest workers about their legal rights and obligations before sending them abroad so that they will take responsibility for fulfilling their contracts, says President of the Vietnam Labour Export Association, Nguyen Luong Trao.

A youth volunteer campaign for the 2007 summer season will be conducted nationwide from June 1 to August 31 with a wide range of activities focusing on far-flung areas with special difficulties.

A charitable art auction was organized on May 27 to raise over US$80,000 for children with facial deformities.

Bird flu has been detected in the northern province of Ninh Binh, bringing the country’s total number of provinces affected by the virus to nine, the Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) said on May 27.

According to statistics from the Vietnam Insurance Association, the Annual Premium Equivalent (APE) index for the whole market has decreased by 3-3.5 percent. This is attributed to the quality of insurance products, which have not met the consumers’ demands.

The Asia Development Bank (ADB) plans to fund a US$1.5-million feasibility study on the upgrade and expansion of water supply systems in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

According to a study conducted in Vietnam recently by Save the Children UK, the rate of Vietnamese children attending pre-school classes is nearly 95 percent. However, the rate of children from ethnic minority groups is only 80 percent while the number of high school students only reaches 77 percent. What is the main reason for the problem?

All 12th graders will begin sitting their graduation exams on May 30. The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) will mobilise nearly 6,000 inspectors to work at all exam councils across the country to prevent negative phenomena and ensure its success.

Fresh bird flu outbreaks have been detected in Bac Giang province and Hai Phong city, bringing the total number of the epidemic-affected localities to eight, according to the Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on May 25.

The Prime Minister on May 24 asked localities and relevant ministries to deploy measures to prevent any outbreak of bird flu and flu caused by the H5N1 virus in humans.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged US$53.2 million in preferential loans to provide clean drinking water for over 150,000 people living in Vietnam’s central region.

According to recent medical statistics, 56 percent of men and 1.8 percent of women in Vietnam are smokers.

Lao State and Party leader Choummaly Sayasone applauded the cooperation and mutual assistance between women of Laos and Vietnam while receiving a delegation from the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU), led by its president Ha Thi Khiet, in Vientiane on May 24.

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Pham The Duyet sent a letter to the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) on May 24 underlining the important role of Buddhism in the Vietnamese society on the occasion of Buddha’s 2551st birthday.

The Ministry of Post and Telematics (MoPT) will provide 79 communes with public telecom services from now until 2010.

Ethnic Chinese must be afforded equal status in society and their cultural heritage must be preserved, said Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on May 24 to review government policies on improving lives of 1 million-strong ethnic Chinese in the country.

An international seminar opened in Hanoi on May 24 to discuss the role of community-based vocational training centres in human resource development and poverty reduction.

An international exhibition on telecommunications, broadcasting and information technology, TBI Vietnam 2007, is being held at the Vietnam Exhibition and Fair Centre from May 24-27.

The electronics company Samsung Vina will launch a walk on June 3 to raise funds for poor and studious children in Vietnam.

Vietnam is on track to eliminate the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2010 as it implements its national strategy on the disease, said Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN Nguyen Tat Thanh.

A labour team from the US Department of State held a dialogue with the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) in Hanoi on May 23.