VIETNAM TODAY

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a financial support package of VND 234.5 billion to help farmers adversely affected by drought and saltwater intrusion.

Athletes are snapping up thousands of free condoms being given out at the Asian Games, organizers said Thursday.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has provided 700,000 USD in non-refundable aid to the pilot application of Vietnam’s Smart Grid project, that will help Vietnamese energy companies efficiently manage the use of electricity during peak hours, and

The Asia-America Gateway (AAG) submarine cable, which was cut on September 15, will resume normal operation on October 4, FPT Telecom said on September 17, citing sources of the cable’s operator.

The Vietnamese American entrepreneur, Hoang Kieu, has been added to the list of the world's billionaires released by Forbes Magazine on September 17.

Vietnam needs to reverse the trend of becoming an “aged” population, a process which was first recognised in 2011.

The US will resume adoptions of Vietnamese children after a six-year ban triggered by flagrant corruption and poor oversight.

Many households in Lang Son Province had to move to safer areas on September 17 evening as water levels of Ky Cung River continued rising.

Thailand's military ruler on Wednesday questioned whether tourists in bikinis are safe in the kingdom, in comments following the murder of two Britons whose battered bodies were found on a Thai island.

First colour photos capturing Hanoians’ material and spiritual lives from 1914 – 1917 are being showcased at an exhibition that was opened in France’s capital of Paris on September 15.

About 20 newsroom chiefs, editors and journalists from media organisations in the Asia News Network (ANN) opens a two-day meeting in Hanoi today.

Hanoi authorities will issue 200,000 monthly cards for bus passengers free of charge as part of a pilot programme to implement new e-ticket system in October.

Special night classes for adults from the Mong ethnic minority group are being held in Yen Bai Province in order to increase the literacy rate there.

Nearly 500 runners from 40 countries are expected to compete in the 70-km ultra international Vietnam Mountain Marathon 2014 taking place in the northern Vietnam mountains in Hoang Lien National Park from Sept. 20-21.

Some 9,200 infants are born with a form of heart disease every year, of which more than 3,000 cases are classified as serious conditions. The number has also risen in recent years, according to head of the Cardiovascular Department

A landslide in Lang Son Province on September 17 morning left six dead and five injured, according to local authorities.

Artist Ha Manh Thang will showcase a painting collection at the Thavibu Gallery in Bangkok from September 20 to October 18.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has decided to appoint the well-known actor Leonardo DiCaprio as the organisation’s Messenger of Peace.

EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif on Wednesday in New York for further talks on Tehran's contested nuclear programme, her spokeswoman said.