Society

Legendary Sapa has been coverd by fog and dropping temperatures recently.

Hanoi and northern provinces have been suffering biting cold for a week, making flower growers “like to be a cat on hot bricks” as the biggest holiday is approaching.

A Boeing 727 airliner with state-run Iran Air crashed near a northwestern city in bad weather and broke into pieces, killing at least 72 of the 105 people on board.

Global warming may wipe out three-quarters of Europe's alpine glaciers and hike sea levels by four metres.

VN will center on developing 4 hi-tech industries, namely information and communication technology, biotechnology, automatic technology and new material technology.

The "shady individual" showed up at a public gathering for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords asking to see the lawmaker, according to event volunteer Alex Villec. Told he would have to wait his turn, the man left but returned minutes later and gunfire erupted.

On chilly evenings in the northwest, there is nothing like sitting down on Sapa’s grilled-food street with a bowl of strong Bac Ha wine and a plate of fragrant grilled food.

Vietnam is mulling over the setup of a national gold exchange in order to put citizens public gold into circulation.

The 15th meeting of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee took place on January 9.

An icy cold snap accompanied with hoar-frost and foggy weather over the past several days has caused the sudden hospitalization of thousands of children suffering cold-related diseases and wreaked havoc on production in the northern region.

Vietnam National Petroleum Corp has been blamed for misusing VND1.2 trillion worth of petroleum stabilisation fund.

A festival for young people to donate their blood, launched by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU), on January 9 received an enthusiastic response from young people from all over the country.

“Book Road”, a festival of books to be held in Ho Chi Minh City this Lunar New Year, will be the first of its kind in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Health has started a US$76 million project to improve training facilities at 18 medical universities and colleges in the next five years.

UN relief agencies defended their role in the much criticised aid effort after Haiti's devastating earthquake nearly a year ago, saying they had faced "apocalyptic" scenes.

The Ministry of Transport has supported the national aviation authority’s proposal not to pass a plan to establish an aviation joint-stock company serving businesspeople.

The Hanoi Fund for Agent Orange/Dioxin victims will make its debut on January 14, announced the city Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

The NA has agreed on the issuance of government bonds worth 45 trillion VND in 2011 to mobilise capital for the country’s socio-economic development projects.

Hundreds of journalists and sports aficionados cast their votes for the athletes and coaches of the year in Hanoi, Da Nang and HCM City on Jan. 6.