VIETNAM TODAY

Over the past 10 years, the US Red Cross (USRC) has helped Vietnam implement eight humanitarian projects in 21 provinces, benefiting more than 500,000 people.

More than 60 protesters were shot dead in the deadliest day of anti-government protests in Ukraine, opposition medics said as rival sides traded accusations of sniper attacks and EU ministers tried to broker an end to the crisis.

Hanoi’s consumer price index rose just 0.49% in February against the previous month– a record low during the past 10 years, according to the municipal Statistics Office.

The structure of floating houses in Vietnam would inspire Western architecture and the sector in general, a Danish architect has said.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has kicked off a national beauty contest in search of Miss Ocean, who will be the face of its marine environment protection projects.

Poultry infected with the A/H5N1 virus have been discovered in 16 provinces across the country since early this month, according to the Department of Animal Health.

The first month of the lunar calendar has traditionally been seen as a month of festivals, but one cultural researcher says that this does not mesh well with modern Vietnam.

Vietnamese and Chinese experts discussed the sea area off the Bac Bo (Tonkin) Gulf during the fifth expert-level negotiation round in Hanoi on February 19-20.

Real Madrid Foundation academy project manager Manuel Pareno Rogriguez is visiting Vietnam to examine the possibility of establishing a football academy in Hanoi.

A senior Iranian negotiator said Thursday that Tehran has agreed on a "framework" for talks with world powers aimed at reaching a comprehensive nuclear accord, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Australia will provide AUD4.2 million (US$3.79 million) for two projects in partnership with the Vietnam Women's Union, said Julie Bishop, Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, during her visit to Vietnam yesterday.

Over 100 police from the Department of Criminal Investigation in Social Order in HCM City conducted a surprise raid at two bars in the city.

An exclusive Japanese bar is suing a foodie website, arguing that unwanted publicity from a review is damaging its operational strategy of being little-known and hard to find, reports said on Thursday.

A female taxi driver who charged USD50 for a short trip in Hanoi was forced to apologise and return the money to two foreign tourists.

After the recent death of the deputy minister of Public Security, the Hanoi's People Court is considering a halt to the case in which the deputy was accused of disclosing information to former Vinalines Chairman.

A 32-episode television film on the legendary Vietnamese intelligence agent Pham Xuan An will be shot soon in both the US and Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City has asked the World Bank to continue lending 450 million USD for the second phase of its environmental sanitation project (Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Basin), according to the city's Transport Department.

The Japanese Government will provide financial and technical assistance for the Can Tho University in the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho to achieve its development goals.

A group of 82 elderly, frail South Koreans, two of them in ambulances, left for the North Korean border Thursday to attend the first reunion in more than three years for families divided by the Korean War.