VIETNAM TODAY

Vietnam Airlines inaugural flight of a new international direct air route linking Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and Haneda Airport in Tokyo lifted off on July 1.

The People’s Committee of northern Bac Ninh province is considering pouring VND298 billion into infrastructure at the Yen Phong Industrial Park (IP) in an attempt to entice Samsung Display to build a US$1 billion plant there.

Japan took a step away Tuesday from an American-drafted constitution that has long kept its military shackled, approving a plan to allow greater use of a force that was vanquished at the end of World War II.

The total export turnover in the first half of 2014 reached US$70.9 billion, increased 14.9% from the same period in 2013.

Vietnam is one of 10 nations that has successfully reduced child and maternal deaths. It cut under-five mortality by 60 per cent from 58 to 23.2 per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 2012. This amounted to saving the

Outgoing British Ambassador to Vietnam Antony Stokes stated that the two countries have enjoyed strong development in all fields while meeting with President Truong Tan Sang in Hanoi on June 30.

Standard & Poor's affirmed its ‘BB-' long-term and ‘B' short-term sovereign credit ratings on Vietnam, with the outlook on the long-term rating being stable.

A leaking oil pipeline caught fire in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian but no deaths or injuries were reported, a government oil company said Tuesday.

Two-time winner Hoang Xuan Vinh will head to Beijing this week to compete at the International Sport Shooting Federation World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun in China.

Both foreign and local travellers involved in a EU-funded survey in Vietnam say all the destinations they arrive at are environmentally friendly, and visitors respect local cultures and environments.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will lead the US delegation to the sixth meeting of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, the State Department said Monday.

Breakthrough measures are needed to boost the equitisation of State-owned enterprises (SOEs), especially those proven ineffectual, said participants at a June 30 seminar in HCM City.

Individuals and organisations wanting to exploit groundwater in areas where water levels have decreased for three consecutive years, are required to register with the local People's Committees by July 15.

Courts in China's ethnically-divided Xinjiang, home to mainly Muslim Uighurs, have sentenced 113 people to jail on mostly terrorism-related offences, state-run media said, as authorities press a crackdown following several deadly attacks.

Five Vietnamese companies have been listed among Asia Pacific’s top 500 retailers in 2014, according to the Retail Asia Publishing Pte.

The Hanoi People’s Committee recently proposed that the municipal People’s Council raise hospital fees by 20%.

The Government convened its regular meeting on June 30 to assess the country’s socio-economic, security-defence and external relations situation in June and the first half of 2014 and define major tasks for the rest of the year.

As of June 30, the working age population in Vietnam has decreased by 10,200 from the same period last year to stand at 47.3 million people, the Quan doi Nhan dan (People’s Army) reported.