CULTURE AND SPORT

Iran is to launch its first nuclear power reactor next week, the Islamic republic and Russia which helped build the plant said on Friday.

The 2010 Perseid meteor shower lived up to its promise of a meteor per minute just before dawn on Friday.

Members of the Ho Chi Minh City Circus Federation won a gold medal at the 13th International Circus Festival in Hanoi, which ended on Wednesday.

The inaugural Youth Olympic Games get under way in Singapore on Saturday, realising a long-held dream of International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge.

Oracle filed a lawsuit against Google, charging that the Internet giant's Android software infringes on patents it now holds.

The Vietnam Football Federation will review the sale of television rights for the national top-flight V-League football.

Vietnam fuelled the surge in Asian beer production, with an increase of more than 24 per cent in beer manufacturing over 2009.

The UN has appealed for 460 million dollars in urgent aid to cope with Pakistan's devastating floods.

Steven Gerrard helped Fabio Capello avoid another chastening experience as the England captain's double strike secured a 2-1 win over Hungary.

Russia announced Wednesday it had deployed a missile battery in Georgia's pro-Moscow rebel region of Abkhazia.

The “Style 2010” show at Ho Chi Minh City’s White Place Centre was the first opera-fashion show in Vietnam.

Vietnam won the championship title with 14 gold, five silver and three bronze medals at the third Southeast Asian Pencak Silat tournament.

Sri Lanka's president Tuesday sacked a maverick minister who had tied a state official to a tree as punishment, an official said.

Around 120 seasonal berry pickers from Vietnam staged two demonstrations against their working conditions in Sweden on Tuesday, officials said.

InterContinental Hotels Group plans to create 160,000 jobs by 2014, the world's largest hotels operator said on Tuesday.

An art party in honor of the 1,000th anniversary of Hanoi will be not only for artists, but will also attract all sorts of people from districts throughout the capital.

V-League teams Dong Thap, Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa have three weeks to convert their clubs into profit-making businesses.

Legendary former US Senator Ted Stevens was killed when a small plane carrying nine people slammed into a remote Alaska mountainside leaving five passengers dead.

Honda announced the recall of 427,000 vehicles because of ignition problems which could allow drivers to remove their key when the vehicle is not in park.