VIETNAM TODAY

A programme launched by the National Fund for Vietnamese Children in 1997 has so far helped treat nearly 20,000 kids with cleft lip and palate, helping them better integrate into society.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on February 19 hosted a meeting of the National Committee for Climate Change in Hanoi to discuss its plans to tackle the hot topic of climate change and rising sea levels.

Cold weather has brought snow to the mountainous district of Sapa and threatens to destroy crops and livestock.

Travel website Price of Travel has placed Hanoi and HCM City of Vietnam on a list of top ten destinations on earth for budget backpackers.

Facilitating people’s more proactive and efficient participation in the policy-making and policy-execution processes forms part of the Government’s strong commitment to promoting human rights to the international community, Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc has said.

Protesters seeking to oust Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra rallied at her temporary office on Wednesday, but the premier stayed away from the potential flashpoint a day after five people were killed in gunbattles in Bangkok.

While the state bank vowed to take drastic measures to restructure the banking sector, the task is turning out to be more difficult than originally expected, said an economist.

Moody's Investors Service is maintaining its negative outlook on the Vietnamese banking system, although it recognizes recent signs of stabilization on the macroeconomic front and regulatory measures that could bring benefits in the next two to three years.

A video clip in which two high school students beat their teacher after being slapped has stirred public concern over the behaviour of both students and teachers.

A national meeting and activities in response to World Water Day 2014 will be held on March 21 in Lai Chau, one of the provinces in the watershed of the Red river and Thai Binh river, the largest river

Ho Chi Minh City and Japan’s Yokohama are working to establish a direct air link that serves the increase number of business travellers.

Vietnam has become the fourth country in the world and the second in Southeast Asia to develop a vaccine for rotavirus, the leading cause of severe diarrhea among infants and young children.

Scientists are still trying to figure out the secrets of monks that have been found mummified in Vietnam, whose internal organs were not removed.

The new Australian government highly values Vietnam’s increasing profile and considers the country one of its key partners in the Asia-Pacific region, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has said.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has stressed the restructuring of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as a key political task for 2014 and the following year.

Several Vietnamese state-owned companies operating in oil and gas, electricity, minerals and telecom have suffered losses investing in foreign countries.

An opulent sandcastle built in the Indian desert has been named the most extraordinary place to stay on the planet by editors of Lonely Planet.

Duong Lam ancient village was presented the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation at a ceremony in Hanoi on February 18.

More than 65 percent of Vietnam’s top 500 businesses with the fastest growth rates in 2013 are from the private sector, twice as much as that of state-owned companies.