New laws will define power of local councils

Thu, 05/22/2003 - 17:27



HA NOI (May 22, 2003) — Local authorities will be given broader supervisory and decision-making powers if amendments to People’s Council and People’s Committee organisation laws and People’s Council election laws are adopted.

The draft amendments ignited two days of heated debate during last week’s third congress of the National Assembly’s 11th legislature.

Website answers corporate queries

Thu, 05/22/2003 - 17:11

HCM CITY (May 22, 2003) — The municipal government on Tuesday launched a website to help answer questions from businesses and resolve difficulties facing those businesses.

The deputy chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) in HCM City, Sesto E. Vecchi, posted the first question on the website to municipal authorities, marking the launch of the website.

Viet Nam asserts right to sovereignty over islands

Mon, 05/19/2003 - 11:24



HA NOI — Viet Nam has unquestionable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Phan Thuy Thanh.

She was commenting on China’s imposition of a ban on fishing in the East Sea area from June 1 to August 1.

Deputy Primi Minister promises faster reform

Mon, 05/19/2003 - 11:23



HA NOI (May, 19, 2003)— The Government has vowed to speed up economic restructuring following complaints from National Assembly delegates the process remains slow.

Speaking at the third session of the National Assembly’s 11th legislature in Ha Noi last Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dzung said the Government would make economic management a priority this year.

Despite impressive gains amid the global downturn, many National Assembly delegates expressed dissatisfaction over the slow pace of economic restructuring, especially in agriculture.

All Viet Nam celebrates Uncle Ho’s 113th birthday

Mon, 05/19/2003 - 11:21

May 19, 2003

NGHE AN — The curtains came down on Sunday on a statue of late President Ho Chi Minh erected in his native province of Nghe An, in one of a slew of ceremonies across the county commemorating his 113th birthday on Monday.

At the inaugural ceremony in the province’s capital city of Vinh – where the statue and a square named after Uncle Ho were built – Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh praised the late president for his contributions to the nation in the modern times.

Halt of SARS in Vietnam Could Hold Lessons for Other Nations

Wed, 05/07/2003 - 17:57

The New York Times, May 7, 2003
By SETH MYDANS


HANOI, Vietnam, May 5 — Doctors and nurses clustered around the bed of Nguyen Thi Men when she emerged in mid-March from a nine-day coma, urging her to stay alive.

"Breathe, breathe," they said. "Keep trying. Your husband and your children are waiting for you."

She heard them and she tried, although she felt as if she were drowning, she said in an interview this weekend at her home.

Fund for support of overseas Vietnamese set up

Mon, 04/28/2003 - 11:12

Nhandan.org.vn, April 28, 2003

A meeting was held on April 25 at the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese to establish a Fund for Support and Encouragement of the Overseas Vietnamese Community (the Fund for Community Support).

Vice State President Truong My Hoa will act as the chairwoman of the fund’s Sponsoring Council.

SARS has run its course in Vietnam, WHO says

Mon, 04/28/2003 - 11:03

Mon Apr 28, 7:15 AM ET

Steve Sternberg USA TODAY

The World Health Organization (news - web sites) declared today that the SARS (news - web sites) outbreak in Vietnam is over, making it the first nation to successfully control the deadly and contagious virus.
No new cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome have been reported in Vietnam since April 8.

Thus Vietnam becomes the first country to be scratched from the list of 26 nations with outbreaks of SARS. These countries have reported 5,218 probable cases of SARS and 317 deaths.

WHO Says Vietnam Shows SARS Can Be Tamed

Fri, 04/25/2003 - 13:00


Thu Apr 24, 6:16 PM ET
By Richard Waddington - REUTERS

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday that
Vietnam -- one of the first countries to be hit by SARS -- had controlled
the killer virus, offering hope that it can be contained elsewhere.

"In Vietnam, certainly, the disease has been brought under control ... We
have not had any new cases ... for over 10 days," said Dr Julie Hall,
coordinator for the WHO's global outbreak alert and response unit.

Monks to get new lease on life

Tue, 04/22/2003 - 17:47



HA TAY (April 22, 2003)— Restoration has started on two ancient statues built up from the corpses of monks at Dau Pagoda, Ha Tay Province.

The monks, Vu Khac Minh and Vu Khac Truong, were uncle and nephew. Under the Buddhist names of Tu Dao Chan and Tu Dao Tam, they were head monks at the pagoda in the middle of the 17th century.

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