VIETNAM TODAY

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has withdrawn his invitation to Iran to take part in this week’s “Geneva 2” peace conference on Syria, his spokesman said on Monday.

Vietnam needs approximately US$8.3 billion to provide adequate drainage services for estimated 36 million people in urban areas by 2025, said Le Duy Hung, senior urban management expert.

Vang Ca Du, a 45-year-old man of La Hu ethnic minority from the northern mountainous Lai Chau Province, was arrested yesterday for selling his 15-day-old son to a Chinese man.

Swedish band Vocalettes will make their debut performance in Hanoi tonight to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Sweden's and Vietnam's diplomatic relations.

Vietnam’s health officials on January 20 confirmed a first H5N1 avian flu death in the southern province of Binh Phuoc – the first in 2014.

Vietnam has strengthened ODA management to use the source effectively and it hopes to receive additional ODA from the Belgian government for its development projects.

Hundreds of leading atomic energy experts from Asia are gathering in Hanoi on January 20-22 for an annual conference to examine global nuclear power trends.

Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) said Monday it was modifying a TV commercial after apologising to customers who complained it used racist stereotyping, but insisted they had meant no offence.

According to the third Education First English Proficiency Index, Vietnam's ranking has gone from 31st out of 54 countries in 2012 to 28th out of 60.

Nearly 100 passengers, many of them foreigners, managed to escape a burning high-speed boat on the Saigon River on January 20.

The Ministry of Transport has approved the use of electric cars on a trial basis at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi to help passengers move between terminals easily.

A big fire, which broke out at 11:45am, burned down a large warehouse in Ba Dinh District, Hanoi.

The long-awaited Tran Temple Festival in Nam Dinh Province will open on the 12th day of the first lunar month, featuring a water procession and fish-offering ceremony.

The owner of a private daycare centre in HCM City and one of the staff have been sentenced to 3 years in prison for abusing children.

A first instance court in the northern border province of Quang Ninh on January 20 handed down death sentences on 30 defendants involved in four transnational drug trafficking rings.

As Tet nears, Hanoian families are paying to have their pets taken care of when they leave for their hometowns.

HCM City firms owe over VND1 trillion (USD47.31 million) to insurance agencies as a result of recent financial difficulties.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked the Government to issue an order to stop the exploitation of natural forests in the Central Highlands region between now and 2020.

The market was boosted by foreign investors acting as net buyers, with value increased throughout the week, which helped the VN-Index to rebound.