Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women’s Union Ha Thi Khiet: In the period of integration and development, Vietnamese women will further promote their self-control, dynamism, and spirit to overcome difficulties in order to expand exchange relations and strive to achieve gender equality goals.

The Ministry of Health has embarked upon a new, aggressive programme to keep the rate of HIV-infected people in the country at less than 0.27 percent of the total population this year.

Japan will receive around 1,000 Vietnamese workers in 2007, according to the Overseas Workers Management Department under the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).

Sexist prejudices, including male chauvinism, lack of specific measures in training plans to use female officials, together with heavy burdens of family and social affairs on women’s shoulders remain big challenges to Vietnam on the way to achieving gender equality, says a Vietnamese official.

Deputy Minister of Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) Tran Quoc Thang: Vietnam considers the development of science and technology as well as education and training a national top policy and an important driving force behind the country’s modernisation and industrialisation process.

Vietnamese pianist Trinh Thi Nhan gave a performance in Paris on March 6 to raise funds for Vietnamese Agent Orange (AO) victims.

The Hue Central Hospital’s cardio-vascular clinic funded by the East Meets West organization and the AP society of the US was inaugurated on March 6.

Vietnam has introduced its national poverty reduction programme for the 2006-2010 period, whose target is to reduce the number of poor households (according to new criterion) from 22 percent in 2005 to 10-11 percent by 2010.

Bird flu has struck northern Ha Tay province, leaving 550 chickens dead at a farm in Thach That district, said a veterinary official at a meeting of the Central Steering Committee for Bird Flu Prevention and Control on March 6.

Over the past year, the Japanese Government has helped the capital city of Hanoi build its Integrated Development and Environment Programme (HAIDEP).

To help localities overcome poultry breeding difficulties, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on March 1 officially lifted its ban on hatching waterfowl and issued regulations on egg-hatching and poultry breeding activities.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women praised Vietnam for adopting new legal documents to eliminate discrimination against women and promote gender equality at a workshop in Hanoi on March 5.

Another two provinces, Lai Chau and Thua Thien-Hue, have been added to the list of provinces suffering from the foot-and-mouth disease, said the Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

A “businesswomen and life” gala was held in Hanoi on March 4 to mark one year anniversary of the Hanoi entrepreneurial women network (HNEW) and International Women’s Day (March 8).

Mexico will continue to support and campaign other Latin American countries to support Vietnam's candidacy for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2008-09 term.

The Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association on March 3 sent out letters to relevant bodies of Russia, calling for due punishment to murderers of a Vietnamese student.

Since mid February, the foot-and-mouth disease has recurred in numerous communes of three districts namely Binh Son, Mo Duc and Ba To, in central Quang Ngai province with around 161 animals infected including 97 pigs which had been culled already.

A female tiger, called Mi by her Hanoi Zoo keepers, has given birth to four cubs, two males and two females, after a full pregnancy of 100 days.

Nearly 80 red-headed cranes, which are listed as an endangered species in the world's Red Book, have been sighted in the Tram Chim National Park in the Mekong Delta Dong Thap province.

Overseas Vietnamese in France organized a seminar in Paris this week to discuss specific ways to help Agent Orange/dioxin (AO) victims in Vietnam.

The Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) on March 1 conferred an insignia "For the Cause of Developing Trade Union" on Dr. Felix Schmidt of the German Friedrich Ebert Institute (FES) Vietnam in recognition of his contribution to Vietnam's trade union.

Bird flu has recurred in the Mekong Delta after over a month of being contained in the region, according to the Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Chairman Cao Duc Phat of the National Steering Committee for Avian Influenza Prevention and Control has asked ministries, sectors and localities to take urgent measures for preventing a possible bird flu recurrence.

Farmers can resume their poultry production as the ban on hatching waterfowl will be removed on March 1, announced Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat on February 27.

It is essential to complete policies and laws on natural resources and environment as soon as possible and combine zoning plans with people’s interests, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at a conference in Hanoi on February 27 to review the State management of natural resources and environment.

The training centre on intellectual property (IP) was inaugurated in Hanoi on February 27. The centre is a joint effort between the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) and the EC-ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Co-operation Programme (ECAP II) in improving NOIP officials’ and other Vietnamese stake-holders’ knowledge of IP.

The State will continue to play a key role of investment in healthcare activities for people, especially for the poor by providing financial support and high-quality services while controlling healthcare services, said Minister of Health Tran Thi Trung Chien.

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union launched a “Youth Month” for 2007 in Hanoi on February 27 under the theme “Vietnamese youths study and follow Uncle Ho’s teachings.”

The Prime Minister has approved a master plan for healthcare development until 2010 and a vision for 2020, including 37 projects from the Ministry of Health.

A Swiss charitable organisation will grant VND600-700 million for surgical operations on more than 150 disabled people in central Quang Tri province in 2007 to help them integrate into the community.