CULTURE AND SPORT

Nearly 200 athletes and coaches of 23 delegations from five countries have gathered for the Hanoi International Aikido Festival being held in Hanoi.

There are no formal negotiations with China about investing in the European Financial Stability Facility, the head of the bailout fund said.

Months of rolling strikes have cost Australian flag carrier Qantas Aus$68 million ($70 million), far more than the damage wrought by the grounding of flights by recent volcanic ash clouds.

Two thirds of the world's population live without social security protection, according to a UN report.

Europe sealed a last-ditch deal to fix its festering debt crisis, pledging new funds for Greece and pushing banks to share the pain.

Singer Amy Winehouse was more than five times over the British drink-drive limit when she died, an inquest heard.

Eurozone leaders have agreed to leverage the firepower of their bailout fund to one trillion euros ($1.39 trillion), French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday.

The world's population of seven billion is set to rise to at least 10 billion by 2100, but could top 15 billion, the United Nations said.

Vietnamese piano prodigy, Trang Trinh, will give a solo concert at the French Cultural Centre in Hanoi on November 3.

China and other emerging powers have agreed to help eurozone countries facing a debt crisis by taking part in a bailout fund, the China Daily said.

Manchester United shrugged off their mauling against Manchester City to book their place in the quarter-finals of the League Cup.

European leaders faced intense pressure to deliver on a promise to resolve the debt crisis at a summit crucial to the world economy as they battled to protect Italy from collapse.

Young Vietnamese catch Halloween Spirit with a festival on West Lake called "Dancing with ghosts".

A single seat on the first commercial flight of Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner was bought for over $34,000 in a charity sale, the company said.

A stage production of Shakespeare's Macbeth by artists from the TNT Theatre will be performed in three major cities – HCM City, Hanoi and Danang.

The body of Libyan ex-leader Moamer Kadhafi was buried overnight in a secret location, a Misrata military council member said Tuesday.

About 10,000 people fled their homes amid fighting between Muslim rebels and government forces in the southern Philippines, an official said.

Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Europe was close to a resolution of its debt crisis and urged the continent's leaders to close the deal for the sake of the global economy.

Bill Gates said he would tell G20 leaders at a summit in France not to turn their backs on funding projects in poor countries.