VIETNAM TODAY

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met with representatives from the Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRCS) on March 24 at the Government Headquarters.

Experts and educators gathered at a seminar in Hanoi on March 24 to discuss how to include intangible cultural heritage in education for sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region.

A plane operated by the budget crrier of Germany's Lufthansa crashed in a remote area of the French Alps Tuesday, killing all 150 on board in the worst aviation disaster on French soil in decades.

Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh met with US Senator Patrick Leahy and senior officials from the US Departments of State and Defence on March 23 and 24 to discuss practical measures on boosting bilateral defence cooperation.

A passenger jet carrying 150 people crashed Tuesday in the French Alps as it flew from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, authorities said. As search-and-rescue teams struggled to get to the remote, snow-covered region, France's president warned that no survivors were expected.

State President Truong Tan Sang met with Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong on March 24, during which they agreed to work hard to raise bilateral trade turnover to 2 billion USD in 2015, up 40 percent from the previous year.

Health experts from 17 countries will discuss challenges to achieve a malaria-free Asia-Pacific region by 2030 at a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN).

A statue to pay tribute to Vietnam's mothers who sacrificed their children and grandchildren for national liberation was inaugurated in Quang Nam Province on March 24.

Authorities in southwestern China on Tuesday executed three men convicted of masterminding a knife attack a year ago that killed 31 people outside a railway station in the city of Kunming.

Vietnam needs greater participation of local firms in global value chains to enable the economy to reach its full growth potential, the Asian Development Bank said.

Hanoi authorities have suspended a tree felling project around the city in the face of public outcry and several officials have been suspended.

A high-level delegation from the Vietnam Ministry of Public Security led by Minister General Tran Dai Quang is making an official visit to Cuba from March 21-25 at the invitation of Cuban Interior Minister Lieutenant General Abelardo Colome Ibrarra.

The 12th ASEAN Taekwondo Federation Championships kicked off at the Lanh Binh Thang Sporting Hall in Ho Chi Minh City on March 23, attracting a record number of athletes.

Japan will offer roughly 1.17 billion USD in low-interest loans for the construction of a mass rapid transit system in Jakarta, Indonesia, in an effort to boost bilateral defence and economic ties.

A scrap collector couple in HCM City, who found JPY5m a year ago, will get to keep the money because no one has come forward to claim it.

US Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, met with Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh in Washington D.C. on March 23, ahead of her visit to Vietnam scheduled for March 30 – April 1.

A huge forest fire broke out yesterday in Ham Rong Mountain of Pleiku City, in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, threatening the operation of two transceiver stations.

Vietnam aims to rank fifth among top air-transportation service providers in Southeast Asia by 2020, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

Vietnamese people always keep in mind the sentiments and valuable assistance offered by former Singaporean PM Lee Kuan Yew to Vietnam, PM Nguyen Tan Dung has written down in the funeral register book dedicated to Mr. Lee Kuan Yew.