Hanoi wants to boost cooperation with domestic and international organisations, including the ICT federation Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation (ASOCIO), in a bid to turn it into a smart city.

The Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Finance to provide nearly 3,597 tonnes of rice from the national reserve to the central province of Ha Tinh and the northern mountainous province of Son La to support people hit by the recent devastating flood.

A communication campaign was kicked off at a ceremony in northern Vinh Phuc province on October 24 to raise public awareness of imbalanced sex ratio at birth in Vietnam.

The tourism sector of the central city of Da Nang has made efforts to ensure the best conditions for the upcoming APEC Economic Leaders’ Week.

A working delegation from the central province of Quang Ngai’s husbandry and animal health department on October 23 collected dead fish samples for testing to find out the cause of the recent massive fish deaths in Binh Son district.

 Fifteen teams from eight countries, including two Vietnamese teams, have been selected to present their smart city building solutions at the Demo Day of the Global Smart City Innovation Challenge for Vietnam (SCIC) competition in November.

Hanoi has put 95.31% of dengue hotbeds under control with no new infections in a 14 day period, while the other 240 remained active, according to statistics from the city’s Department of Health.

Many policies for the disabled remain impractical and have yet to help students with disabilities access tertiary education.

 The Embassy of Vietnam in Mozambique held a celebration on October 21 to mark the 87th anniversary of Vietnam Women’s Day (October 20) with the participation of Vietnamese women in Mozambique.

There are now more than 10 million elderly people in Vietnam, of whom 2 million are over eighty years old. Vietnam has had an ageing population since 2011 with its ageing pace among the fastest in the world, posing a serious challenge to the country.

Businesses that purposely find ways to evade paying social insurance for their employees will not only receive administrative fines but also attract steep monetary penalties once a new law comes into effect next year.

A report from the Vietnam Tourism Association showed that 6.5 million Vietnamese traveled abroad in 2016 and spent US$7-8 billion. Spending per capita was US$1,230 on outbound tours, an increase of 15% over 2015.

Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City began using robot in cancer surgery on October 23, becoming the third infirmary in Vietnam to apply this technology.

Ho Chi Minh City should develop a “twin city” model, which would divide the metropolis into two urban areas, a western and an eastern one, to allow each part to properly develop, said Dr Vo Kim Cuong, former deputy chief architect of HCM City.

Ho Chi Minh City's Management and Operation Centre for Public Transport has announced that it has started construction on a new Ben Thanh bus terminal on Ham Nghi Street in District 1.

The Embassy of Vietnam in Russia on October 23 launched a fundraising ceremony to help people in Vietnam overcome consequences of natural disasters.

An international workshop was opened by the Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation (VPDF) and Germany’s Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung in Hanoi on October 23 to encourage the further involvement from society to support vulnerable groups.

The Vietnamese nationals in the Macau Special Administrative Region (China) held a meeting on October 22 to celebrate the 87th anniversary of Vietnam Women’s Day (October 20). 

A series of training workshops on Research 123, a toolkit that assists researchers in getting their papers published internationally, opened in Hanoi on October 23.

VOV.VN - First runner-up of Miss Vietnam 2016 Thanh Tu has been appointed as a goodwill ambassador of S Project – a significant project in the fight against child abuse.

The health sector has been ready to serve the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week scheduled to take place in the central city of Da Nang from November 6-11.

Two Vietnamese universities have secured places on a list of the top 150 universities in Asia, compiled by London-based education consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

The Hanoi People’s Committee has proposed the construction of Me So Bridge, which will connect the city’s Thuong Tin District with neighbouring Hung Yen Province.

The YouthSpeak Forum 2017 held in Hanoi on October 22 provided a platform for youngsters to discuss social issues and seek active actions towards the goal of sustainable economic growth and employment.

VOV.VN - More than 10,000 people in red T-shirt joined a walk along Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi on October 22 in support of a campaign to end domestic violence against women and girls.

A company in Ho Chi Minh City has, for the first time ever, used solar energy to fuel the operation of a wastewater treatment plant.

 The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak is making efforts to reduce the rate of poor households by 2.5-3 percent by 2020.

The Embassy of Vietnam in Malaysia on October 21 raised funds for flood-hit residents in northern and central provinces of the home country. 

More than 148,260 cases of dengue fever have been reported across the country since the outbreak began earlier this year, of which 30 people have lost their lives.

The Vietnamese Association in Odessa province, Ukraine, has presented more than three tonnes of food to locals who are living in difficult circumstances.