Easing the burden on overcrowded hospitals is a priority for the government, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien has said, promising to increase bed numbers at major health centres, open more satellite facilities and boost the number of family doctors.

A long queue has formed outside a shop in Hanoi`s Old Quarter as city aficionados wait to buy a Tet delicacy, the humble Banh Chung, or Chung cake, which will grace many a table in the coming week.

Hanoi authorities are restoring 82 stone tablets recording the royal examinations held under the Le-Mac dynasties (1442-1779) placed at Van Mieu (the Temple of Literature) and Quoc Tu Giam (Vietnam’s first national university).

A farmer in Hanoi is growing miniature kumquat trees in jars, creating many unusual shapes and effects and winning customers ahead of the Tet holiday.

The Embassy of Japan in Vietnam has announced a new programme under which the Japanese Government will provide full scholarships for Vietnamese teachers and students in 2015.

A nature conservation centre in Danang City has organised education trips for students to learn about wild animals in local forests, including the rare and endangered red-shanked douc langur, pygathrix nemaeus, of which only a few hundred still exist.

Streets of Hanoi and other major cities in Vietnam have been decorated with colourful lights and flowers in preparation for the calendar New Year on January 1.