A project on accident and injury prevention was launched in central Da Nang city on December 28 by Counterpart International in Vietnam, a US non-governmental organisation, and the municipal Red Cross association.

Dang Ngoc Tung, member of the Party Central Committee and Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), has been elected the President of VGCL.

Around 17 cities and provinces nationwide have completed a programme to eliminated dilapidated houses of the poor.

The National Steering Committee for Bird Flu Control will dispatch missions to cities and provinces across the country to inspect bird flu prevention and control activities from January 1-15, 2007.

The Prime Minister signed a decision on December 28 to provide VND36.5 billion for projects to evacuate people from areas hit by natural disasters.

A campaign was launched in the northern province of Nam Dinh on December 27 to raise public awareness of bird flu outbreaks in an effort to contain the disease.

Travel agencies have launched special domestic tours for overseas Vietnamese who return to the homeland for the traditional lunar New Year (Tet).

Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Cao Duc Phat warned that bird flu is likely to spread throughout the Mekong delta and may recur in Red River delta and border areas.

Vietnam will try its best to implement commitments on population, family and children and millennium development goals to build a progressive and prosperous society, and together with the international community, to realise equality, progress and sustainable development.

As many as 9,000 birds have been culled after new bird flu outbreaks were discovered in six communes of four districts in the two southern provinces of Bac Lieu and Ca Mau last weekend.

The visiting Israeli agro-tech delegation inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with representatives of Vietnamese universities and colleges in Hanoi on December 26 to implement a programme of study for Vietnamese students in Israel.

The Japanese Government will grant nearly US$90,000 in non-refundable aid to Chon Thanh district of southern Binh Phuoc province to buy medical equipment for its hospital.

The reduction of population growth rate and the changes in population structure have greatly helped improve Vietnam's people's living conditions and socio-economic development.

Christmas 2006 is not only a great holiday for Catholics and Protestants in Ho Chi Minh City but also a charity-booming movement to benefit orphans, the disabled and the lonely elderly.

Christmas is celebrated everywhere. Everybody can feel it in the air as many people share Christmas celebrations.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on December 22 requested all local administrations to take drastic measures to prevent bird flu in poultry and humans, considering this their focal task.

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has decided to cut ticket prices under a trade promotion programme to celebrate the Lunar New Year Festival (Tet).

Vietnam’s ambassador to Italy and representative to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Nguyen Van Nam and IFAD President Lennart Bage have signed a deal on implementation of a market improvement project for poor people in Ha Tinh and Tra Vinh provinces.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned Vietnam of ever biggest flows of migrants from the countryside to urban areas on a scale that is much larger than elsewhere in the world.

It is time to consider reduction in traffic accidents one of the major socio-economic development targets, and there is no way to let the death toll caused by traffic accidents increase year on year, according to a report on traffic safety.

Mekong delta provinces have been taking prompt actions to stamp out the spread of bird flu after recent outbreaks found in the two southernmost provinces of Ca Mau and Bac Lieu.

The Voice of Vietnam veterans’ association held its first congress in Hanoi on December 21 to review its activities in the 2005-2006 period and work out orientations for the 2007-2011 term.

A special music and song programme will be launched to raise nearly VND3 billion for disadvantaged people, an agency in charge of enlisting assistance for the poor said on December 20.

Thanh Tri bridge will be open to traffic in time for the Lunar New Year Festival (Year of the Pig). Final elements of the bridge such as the pavement, green tree planting on the central barrier and the lighting system have already been completed. Currently the roads leading to the bridge are almost finished.

The World Bank (WB) has approved a US$124.7 million loan for an environmental protection project in the central coastal cities of Nha Trang, Quy Nhon and Dong Hoi. Part of the loan is sourced from the International Development Association (IDA), which supports anti-poverty programmes in low-income countries, it announced on December 20.

The Vietnam Commission for Population, Family and Children (VCPFC) is working out a national strategy on contraceptive commodity security, with the aim of ensuring that contraceptives are available and accessible to all by 2015.

In early December, new bird flu outbreaks occurred at Rach Lum B, Khanh Hung commune, Tran Van Thoi District, southern Ca Mau province, killing 490 chickens and 2,033 ducks. Meanwhile in three other communes of Hoa Binh District in southern Bac Lieu, 3,550 chickens and 4,450 ducks have died.

Vietnam was admitted to the World Diabetes Association earlier this month, said Professor Ta Van Binh, director of the National Hospital of Endocrinology.

The Ministry of Education and Training on December 19 launched a US$880,000 project entitled "Strategic Development of Literacy Initiative for Empowerment Resource Support System (LIFERSS) in Vietnam" with support from UNESCO.

Some 500 delegates representing 7.3 million Vietnamese elderly people will gather in Hanoi for the third congress of the Vietnam Elderly Association (VEA) scheduled on December 27-30, announced VEA Vice Chairman and General Secretary Do Trong Ngoan.