In a press release on September 30, the US Embassy announced that the US now accepts Vietnamese travellers’ applications for renewal of non-immigrant visas through its courier service.

In many cases, applicants no longer need to come to the US Embassy in Hanoi or US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City for an interview or new set of fingerprints.

Students, temporary workers, business travellers and tourists can often take advantage of this new system.

To qualify for this programme, applicants must be physically present in Vietnam. They should be applying for the same visa type as in their previous non-immigrant visa. Finally, not more than 12 months should have elapsed since the previous visa expired.

The progamme also offers people, who may concern to visit the website: http://vietnam.usembassy.gov

“The jade Buddha statue for Universal Peace” was carved from an 18-tonne jade boulder – nicknamed the “Polar Pride”, which was discovered in Canada in 2000. The 4.8m-tall statue weighs 5,000kg, and is considered the world’s largest and most solemn Buddhist jade statue. It was competed after eight years by more than 30 sculptors and Buddhist researchers from Thailand, Nepal, Myanmar and India.

After arriving in Vietnam, the jade statue has been on display in Danang, Vung Tau and Dong Thap allowing Buddhist nuns, monks and followers to contemplate and pray for a peaceful world.

The two sides agreed to promote images of Hue and Thailand to lure more Thai tourists to Hue and vice versa.

They reached agreements on some issues relating to tourism cooperation and development through exploiting potential of each other.

Mrs. Tunyaratt Achariyachai appreciated Hue’s potential for developing tourism, particularly its traditional culture, nature and the hospitality of Hue’s people to attract Thai visitors.

According to People’s Committee of Thua Thien-Hue Province, the locality now has 152 hotels with over 5,200 bedrooms.

In 2008, Hue received over 1.7 million arrivals of which almost 20 percent were from Thailand.

The 161-page document and its annex include photos, technical architecture drawings, scientific films and illustrations on the citadel and management plans.

Built about 600 years ago with four gates at the central of four edges South, North, East and West, the Citadel of the Ho Dynasty is a stone ancient military architecture with great cultural and historical value. It was the capital of Vietnam from 1397 to 1407. It locates in Vinh Long and Vinh Tien communes, Vinh Loc District of central coastal Thanh Hoa Province.

The citadel includes three sections: La Thanh and bamboo hedge; moat and citadel wall; and an internal area with a number of palaces connected with one another by marble-paved roads.

The outside of the citadel are Bao Thanh (Ly Cung) Palace, altar of the sky and the earth and patterned-brick access to the sky and the earth altar.