Environment

Australia braced for a rapidly rising death toll Tuesday after flash floods killed eight and left 72 missing, as a quickly spreading flood disaster forced evacuations in central Brisbane.

Authorities in the central Nghe An Province are trying to persuade a local fisherman to release a giant endangered green turtle he caught last Monday back into the sea.

The number of violations of environmental law increased by 43 per cent in 2010 compared to 2009, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Ever since the Duong Lam Village was listed as “ancient” and thus subject to preservation, locals have been complaining they cannot renovate houses nor construct tall buildings.

Australian residents fled their homes as a major town was threatened by a worsening flood disaster which unleashed a plague of snakes and crocodiles.

As makers roll out slim versions of Playstation, smart phones, TVs and everything state-of-the-art, Hanoi boasts many slim houses just less than 2m wide but towering sky-high.

Vietnam's Son Doong cave is the largest in the world, with caverns big enough to fit an entire city street inside them.

The shenanigans of illegal brokers in front of hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City continue operating with impunity, trapping hapless patients in many dubious schemes.

Flood waters swept through vast areas of northeastern Australia in a disaster one official said was of "biblical proportions".

Italy is set to ban plastic bags from shops and supermarkets across the country on January 1.

Vietnam is hurriedly building its institutional framework for projects to cope with climate change, as the country is seen to be among the worst hit by global warming.

The East Sea has turned rough and gloomy, threatening shipping during the next 6 to7 days, the national weather bureau has said.

Medicinal wines have remained a favourite drink for many Vietnamese men despite serious warnings of potential risks from doctors and herbalists.

Ho Chi Minh City needs more than VND20 trillion (US$1.05 billion) by 2015 to cope with the impacts of climatic change, but authorities have yet to draft action plans.

A recent photograph taken by a scientist of a red-eared slider clinging to a giant turtle’s carapace has scientists screaming blue murder.

Tet bonus problems are contributing to strikes in scores of foreign-backed enterprises in southern provinces.

Families living on boats along city waterways run the gauntlet of random police raids as they eke out a meager living.

Vietnam’s world heritage Ha Long Bay ranks sixth among the world’s top ten destinations for sailing cruises by National Geographic book Journeys of a Lifetime.

China plans to invest 30 billion dollars on water conservation projects in 2011 to reduce the impact of natural disasters on grain production, state media said Saturday.