Vietnam puts regional land cable to use




Ha Noi, Feb. 2 (VNA) -- Viet Nam has put an optical-fibre cable system linking Viet Nam with China and four ASEAN countries into use, the Viet Nam Post and Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT) said.

The 7,000 km cable - which also runs through Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand - would help VNPT handle hundreds of international telecom channels. In Viet Nam, the cable runs from nothern Lang Son province to central Ha Tinh province, 500 km south of Ha Noi, before connecting to neighbouring China and Laos.

PM said to increase socio-economic development


Ha Noi, Feb.2 (VNA) -- Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has described the year 2001 as the start of a stage in which Viet Nam will boost socio-economic development to match its progress to international economic integration.

"2001 must be the beginning of a stage in which Viet Nam accelerates socio-economic growth in order to make its 2001-2005 five-year plan and 2001-2010 ten-year strategy successful and match its progress to international integration, including its fully-fledged entry into the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) by 2006", Khai said.

More than 112,880 people become party members in 2000



Ha Noi, Feb. 2 (VNA) -- More than 112,880 people joined the Communist Party of Viet Nam in 2000, equal to 98.6 percent of new members in 1999.

Of the new members, 32.5 percent were female, 52.8 percent under 30 years of age, 52.6 percent members of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCMCYU), 12.9 percent ethnic minority people and 1.1 percent religious believers.

Call for lifting of sanctions against Libya




Ha Noi, Feb. 2 (VNA)-- It's time to lift sactions against Libya and help the ordinary people of the country return to a normal life, says the Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman.

Ms. Phan Thuy Thanh told the Viet Nam News Agency on Jan. 31 that Libya had proved its good-will and cooperation by helping to solve the destruction of a US airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Anniversary of Paris Accord celebrated




Ha Noi, Feb. 2(VNA) -- Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh has described the signing of the Paris Accords in 1973 as an event that set a fully active stage for Viet Nam's diplomacy, thus leading the Vietnamese revolution from one victory to another.

The Vice President was talking with about 50 officials who took part in the peace talks that led to the signing of the historic Paris Accords in 1973. The get-together was held in Ha Noi on Feb. 2 to mark the 28th anniversary of the accords (Jan. 27).

Vietnam and UNICEF cooperation plan

VIET NAM-UNICEF COOPERATION PROGRAMME APPROVED


Ha Noi, Feb. 1 (VNA) -- The Vietnamese Government and the Executive Council of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have approved the Viet Nam-UNICEF overall cooperation programme for the 2001-2005 period, according to the Viet Nam National Committee for Child Care and Protection.

UNICEF's budget for the programme amounts to USD 70 million including USD 20 million from the budget for outgoings and USD 50 million from raised funds.

New natural reserve in Thua Thien - Hue




Ha Noi, Feb. 1 (VNA) -- The central Thua Thien-Hue province has mapped out a project to set up a natural reserve that covers the Lang Co marsh and the O Lau estuary.
The 400-ha natural reserve is about 60 km to the south-west from the former imperial city of Hue, a World Cultural Heritage site. It is home of 230 species of fish, 23 of them are of special and high-economic value.

Vietnamese overseas paticipate in export




Ha Noi, Feb. 1 (VNA) -- The overseas Vietnamese community was praised by a senior trade official as an "effective network of distributing made-in-Viet Nam goods the world over."

More than 2.5 million overseas Vietnamese people, most of them engaged in businesses, have created an effective marketing network for domestic goods the world over, thus making a considerable contribution to the nation's export surge last year, said Deputy Trade Minister Mai Van Dau at a meeting in Ha Noi on Feb. 1 with more than 100 overseas business executives.

Vietnam publishes book on Paris Peace Talks





Ha Noi, Feb. 1 (VNA) -- Viet Nam has just published a book entitled "The National Front for Liberation - the Provisional Revolutionary Government at the Paris Conference on Viet Nam".

The publication was announced at a media briefing in Ha Noi this afternoon, Feb. 1.

The compilation began in mid-1999 and was completed in late 2000 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the South Viet Nam National Front for Liberation.

" Peace village" helps many but many more need help




Jan. 29 (VNA) -- Excellent results have been obtained for 23 of 265 handicapped children admitted to a central Thua Thien-Hue province functional rehabilitation centre.

Results for another 69 children are described as good. But only 344 of more than 10,000 handicapped children across the province have been admitted, including many mentally handicapped children who are victims of Agent Orange.

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