Recent News» Border demarcation between Cambodia, Viet Nam to be completed by 2012Posted 03/5/2008Cambodia and Viet Nam have affirmed their determination to speed up the demarcation of the land border between the two nations, local media reported Tuesday. The work will be completed by 2012, the Mekong Times newspaper said, citing Var Kim Hong, Cambodian Senior Minister in charge of border affairs and Chairman of the Cambodian-Viet Nam Joint Border Commission. The contentious Cambodia-Viet Nam border demarcation began in 2005 and was supposed to be finished in 2007, the newspaper said.
» Party leader calls for renewal of mass mobilisationPosted 03/5/2008Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh has urged mass organisations at all levels to renew their operations to increase the effectiveness of their work. Addressing a national conference on mass mobilisation on March 4, the party leader stressed that mass organisations should intensify communication with their constituents to understand important issues in their lives. He said mass mobilisation work should focus more on private and foreign-invested sectors and areas with religious followers and ethnic minority groups, as well as isolated and remote areas. He also stressed that party organisations and authorities should consider mass mobilisation work as a strategic task in building the party and administration, and enhancing closer ties between the party, State and people. » Vietnam to establish first stem cell bankPosted 03/5/2008HANOI, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's first stem cell bank will be set up in southern Ho Chi Minh City by the end of April, local newspaper Vietnam News reported Tuesday.
The bank, to be established by Vietnam's Mekophar Chemical Pharmaceutical Co. and Singapore's Cord Labs Co., will be able to store 3,600 samples of umbilical cords.
The bank will receive samples from babies without infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis B, and with normal blood index.
Stem cells, unspecialized cells that can be developed into specific specialized cells, such as blood cells, would be used to treat skin diseases and injuries caused by burns and diabetes in the next one or two years, and cartilage, bone, nerve and heart diseases, and others gradually, said Phan Toan Thang, a Vietnamese scientist working for the Singaporean company.
» Vietnam protests Chinese military exercise in disputed islandsPosted 11/28/2007
HANOI (AFP) - Vietnam has protested over a Chinese military exercise in the disputed Paracel archipelago and reasserted its claim over the islands, state media reported Saturday.
"China's act to conduct military exercises in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago violates Vietnam's sovereignty," foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung said according to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).
"It is not in line with the common perception of senior leaders of the two countries as well as the spirit of the recent meeting between the two prime ministers on the sidelines of the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore and not beneficial to a bilateral friendly relationship," he said according to VNA.
VNA said China held the military exercise from November 16 to 23.
The Paracels -- a group of small islands and reefs with potential oil and gas reserves and rich fishing grounds -- were controlled by French Indochina and have since been claimed by Vietnam, China and Taiwan.
China has administered them since 1974 when its troops overran a South Vietnamese outpost shortly before the end of the Vietnam war.
Dung reaffirmed Vietnam's claim over the Paracels as well as the disputed Spratly archipelago and stressed Vietnam's wish to resolve the disputes "with the aim of keeping peace and stability" in the region.
» Yahoo adds media playing, languages to messagingPosted 10/31/2007NEW YORK (Reuters) - Internet media company Yahoo Inc said on Tuesday it is adding media-playing features, large file transfers, new languages and other tools to its instant messaging service.
The move comes as a growing number of rivals -- from incumbents like AOL to social network sites like News Corp's MySpace -- boost their positions in the market for instant messaging services.
Yahoo Messenger 9.0 launched as a test version and has added features similar to ones seen on social networks or media-sharing sites, including extra room to post a picture or other image next to contact names and the ability to share video or photos within a message screen.
The service is adding languages from six new markets, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Vietnam, for a total of 25 international markets.
Users can also forward messages to their mobile phones when they are away from the computer.
"This makes it easier for people to stay connected and grow their friendships," said Sabrina Ellis, vice president of Yahoo Messenger. "We added several personalization features. We think a lot of the media-sharing will really help."
Yahoo is one of the largest instant messaging service, with about 27.7 million users in September, up 19 percent from a year earlier, according to data from tracking firm comScore. Time Warner Inc's AOL reported about 30.2 million users.
The Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program provides support to young researchers working in academic and research institutions from eligible countries preparing a doctoral thesis. Research grants cover residence costs for a 5 to 10 month period in a renowned university or research center. Fellows are expected to advance their research work mainly by using the facilities and resources provided by the host institution and by interacting with peers.
Semester 2, 2008 Round - Closing date March 22 2008
ICE WaRM is pleased to invite international applicants to apply for full and partial tuition annual scholarships for the Master of Water Resources Management.
Scholarship rounds are for Semester 1 and Semester 2. Currently the Semester 2 round is open and closes officially on the 22nd March. Semester 1 scholarships close on the 22nd September annually.
To find more information on the scholarships and to apply, see http://www.icewarm.com.au and "Programmes", "International Liaison" and "Scholarships".
To read more on the Master of WRM programme, or download a brochure and course timetable, see www.icewarm.com.au and "Programmes", "Education" and "Master of WRM".
Please feel free to distribute this email to your contacts and prospective international applicants.
If you wish to make an enquiry, please email scholarships@icewarm.com.au
Interested students are invited to contact the coordinators of the courses concerned for further information on admission conditions, application forms and scholarships. Erasmus Mundus scholarships are available for all courses published on this site.
printer version
view all