CULTURE AND SPORT

Preparations have begun for the annual Kate Festival of Cham people next month in Phan Thiet with processions, spirit rituals and lots of food, culture and fun.

Around 9,000 people demonstrated Saturday in the centre of Barcelona for the independence of the northeastern Catalonia region, media reported.

Australian PM Julia Gillard named former leader Kevin Rudd as her foreign minister, less than three months after she staged a sudden and ruthless coup against him.

North Korea  has proposed the resumption of a programme of reunions for families separated by the division of the Korean peninsula, state media said Saturday.

Politics threatened to overshadow a day of mourning Saturday for nearly 3,000 Sept. 11 victims amid a polarizing national debate over a planned mosque.

California firefighters searched grimly through smoldering ruins Friday after a huge gas pipeline blast triggered an inferno killing four people.

Up to 40,000 frontline police jobs could be axed if suggested government cuts of 25 percent go ahead, the Police Federation warned Friday.

Japan's economy expanded more than first thought in the April-June quarter, soothing fears that a fragile recovery could grind to a halt.

Professional golf in Vietnam will break new ground this year when it witnesses its first ever match play tournament at the Mercedes-Benz Masters Vietnam.

Many Asian students who walk into South Philadelphia High will be carrying something besides books.

A suicide car bomber hit the central market of Vladikavkaz, killing at least 17 and wounding more than 130 people.

Global economic recovery is slowing faster than expected and extra stimulus from governments may be needed, the OECD warned.

Four Vietnamese athletes left on Monday for the World Judo Championship that will kick off today at Tokyo's Yoyogi National Gymnasium.

De Mai Tinh” (Fool for Love), the most recognizable comedy from Vietnam this year will be screened in five cities in the US starting on September 10.

Five people remained missing late Wednesday as firefighters battled for a third day to contain a major wildfire in the western US state of Colorado, officials said.

World stock markets fell on Wednesday as investors sought safety amid fresh worries about the fragile economic recovery.

The team which successfully conducted a round-the-clock flight powered by the sun, Solar Impulse, said it is planning three test flights across Switzerland.

The first ever Vietnamese International Film Festival will take place in Hanoi on October 17 to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

New Zealand authorities extended a state of emergency in quake-hit Christchurch Wednesday after the most damaging aftershock since a powerful weekend quake.