The Irish Government is going to support Vietnam’s efforts to develop ethnic minority areas with 12.6 million EUR (US$14.9 million) between 2017 and 2020.

Cultural researchers and war veterans again assessed the significance of the Spring 1968 Uprising at a symposium held in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on December 20. 

Numerous activities are being held across the country to mark the 73rd anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army (December 22).

Though Vietnam has a golden population structure until 2042, with the rapid population aging speed like at present, economic gains from population will sharply decline from 2019.

VOV.VN - An awards ceremony for a contest on the history of Vietnam-Laos special ties was held at the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi on December 20.

VOV.VN -A 45-year-old Hanoi man was killed in an early morning house fire on December 20.

The University of Science of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNUH) has met criteria for university quality assessment at institutional level under the ASEAN University Network – Quality Assurance’s (AUN-QA).

Journalists from the Foreign Press Association in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (APES) praised Vietnam’s development after their recent week-long trip to the country.

Hoi An city in the central province of Quang Nam  has begun the second trial of a public bus route connecting An Bang and Cua Dai beaches, the old quarter and Tre Que vegetable gardens before launching the service in 2019.

From 2015 to July 2017, HCM City’s Pasteur Institute collected 2,220 samples from diarrhoea patients aged under five for rotavirus tests. The results showed more than 45% of samples were positive, Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper reported.

A Ministry of Health report reveals that each year 100,000 labourers in the country were checked for occupational diseases and more than 5,000 found to have diseases.

Women have given birth to a total of 5,643 babies via in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) at Tu Du Obstetrics Hospital in HCM City since 1998, according to the hospital, one of the leaders in offering IVF services in the country.

The Investigation Security Agency under the Ministry of Public Security on December 20 began legal proceedings against Phung Dinh Thuc, former General Director of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).

FrieslandCampina Vietnam has been ranked among the 100 most sustainable businesses of 2017 for its contributions to the sustainable development of the country.

Hanoi has signed several cooperation programmes with international partners to promote the capital city’s images abroad.

An international workshop on environmental risk assessment and human health opened in the central province of Binh Dinh on December 19, aiming to seek solutions to environmental management in Vietnam.  

Vietnam will contribute more to the United Nations peacekeeping operations, said Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh.

Programmes and projects funded by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have actively contributed to poverty reduction and socio-economic development in Vietnam, heard a conference in Hanoi on December 19. 

Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport has proposed the municipal People’s Committee allow a pilot electric motorbike rental programme in District 1.

The Border Guard Command of Vietnam’s northern Lao Cai province and Honghe county border police of China’s Yunnan province have agreed to set up a liaison officer mechanism and hotline between their equivalent units. 

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan and municipal leaders on December 19 visited the Headquarter of the HCM City Archdiocese and the Office of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam ahead of the Christmas 2017 and New Year 2018.

Ho Chi Minh City authorities will focus on dealing with traffic congestion at 10 traffic hot spots by the end of this year.

Organisations and individuals at the third Xuan noi đao xa (Spring in the Far Island) programme held in HCM City on December 17 donated more than VND15 billion (US$660,000) to support island residents and soldiers who are protecting the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea.

VOV.VN - Around 150 children affected with cleft lips and palates are to be provided with free check-ups and surgery in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from December 18-29 under a joint program between Operation Smile and MobiFone.

A new typhoon, Kaitak, entered the south of the East Sea on December 18 afternoon. As the 15th storm to hit the waters this year, it is forecast to get stronger, according to the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting.

The Vietnam Association of River Basin and Coast Protection plans to publish 300 photo books of the Son Tra Nature Reserve in the central city of Da Nang to raise funds for protecting its biodiversity.

VOV.VN - Over the last 55 years, Vietnam and Laos have constantly developed their special solidarity as a foundation for effective cooperation in all fields.

A scientific workshop was held in Hanoi on December 18 to celebrate 45 years of the victory of the Dien Bien Phu in the Air (December 1972).

 The Vietnam Airlines Corporation, its member, Vietnam Airlines Engineering Company (VAECO), and the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi (USTH) have inked an agreement to launch a Bachelor Programme on Aeronautics and a Master Programme on International Air Transport Operation Management.

The national steering committee for search and gathering of martyr remains held a meeting on December 18 to review the implementation of a plan on searching and gathering martyr remains (also called Plan 1237) this year.