Some 100 households in HCM City’s District 9 spent Wednesday night in the dark after an electricity pole snapped and fell at 6pm near Tăng Nhơn Phú B market.

Three sailors in central Bình Định Province’s Quy Nhơn City died of suffocation after entering the storage cabin of their boat on Wednesday.

Authorities, including local ones, need to increase patrolling and promote fire safety to ensure there are no major forest fires during the ongoing dry season, a meeting held to review forest protection and fire prevention heard in HCM City yesterday.

Tourism promotional campaigns in Việt Nam will be boosted with the establishment of Việt Nam Tourism Development Fund (VTDF), an official said.

Scattered investment and red tape have held back science and technology research in Việt Nam, scientists said at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam yesterday.

Many farmers in northern Vĩnh Phúc Province have been chopping down their đinh lăng (polyscias fruiticose) trees, a medicinal plant species, as they can’t find a consumption market although constantly reducing selling prices.

Public hospitals are facing a “brain drain” with many doctors and pharmacists moving to private health facilities attracted by their high salaries.

Hospitals in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk are being improved dramatically to provide better care to locals to reduce the number of patients going to HCM City and other cities for treatment.

Periodic dialogue on occupational safety and health policies was very essential, in order to share information, to increase understanding among employers, workers, trade unions, and agencies, an official said.