Society

Five are feared dead or missing after a boat carrying 34 people, mostly soldiers, capsized and sank in heavy seas off Cua Dai beach in the central province of Quang Nam on December 25.

The Long Bien Vincom Centre, a commercial complex developed by Vingroup, officially opened to the public on December 24.

A massive fire broke out at the Phuong Dong night club in Da Nang City on December 23, spreading panic amongst local residents who rushed out of their homes.

The Ministry of Education and Training plans to mobilise 237.5 billion VND (11.4 million USD) to combat HIV/AIDS during the 2011-20 period, the ministry announced.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his girlfriend Priscilla Chan have surprisingly chosen Vietnam as a destination for their Christmas holiday this year.

Christians flocked to Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas, with both the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the pope at the Vatican calling for peace and reconciliation.

Japan's cabinet approved a $1.16 trillion budget for the 2012 fiscal year, with a record 49 percent financed by bonds even as the country struggles to rein in its massive public debt.

Nguyen Sieu Hanh, in his final year as a student of the Business Administration Department at the Belgian United Business Institute, has received the World Summit Youth Award.

The Vietnam Football Federation signed a$1.65 million contract with Japan’s Dentsu Company to sponsor Vietnam’s national football teams for one year from 2012-2013.

North Korea changed its secret communication frequencies or encryption system to prevent spying by South Korea following the death of its leader Kim Jong-Il, a report said.

Vietnam's industrial production in 2011 has grown at 6.8 percent, lower than last year, due to global economic volatility, according to the General Statistics Office.

Aftershocks continued to rattle the earthquake-shattered New Zealand city of Christchurch overshadowing Christmas preparations for weary residents in a "hellish year".

State President Truong Tan Sang received the visiting President of the Senate of Thailand Teeradej Meepien in Hanoi

Vietnam Military Medical University has given out a stark warning about hygiene after surveying household kitchens in 10 cities.

Traders have been rushing into Diem Tieu Village, Binh Dinh Province to purchase Ngau trees to sell in China.

France's health ministry advised 30,000 women with breast implants made by PIP to have them removed.

A severe cold front enveloped the northern and central region and another is set to move in by Saturday, certain to bring in an extremely cold Christmas for people living in these areas.

World powers argued about the details of a U.N. resolution on Syria, after suicide car bombers killed 44 in Damascus.

Vietnamese music fans welcomed 10 well-known foreign singers and bands this year.