VIETNAM TODAY

A section of the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Highway linking Hanoi with Vinh Phuc temporarily opened for public use on December 27.

The State Bank of Vietnam said they will set a limit for printing new small banknotes because of the high cost of making them and their proliferation of use at pagodas.

Valuable woodblocks used for rudimentary printing in the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945) will be introduced to the public for the first time during the Da Lat Culture Tourism Week 2013 from December 27-31.

The world's tiny but hugely successful Zoroastrian community will confront a demographic crisis which threatens its very existence when it gathers en masse in its spiritual home of Mumbai this week.

Three drowned after a boat carrying eight women on board capsized in the Go Trau River of Tam Ky city, Quang Nam province, on December 27.

President Truong Tan Sang has asked Hanoi Law University to actively work to become the nation's leading institution in training legal professionals.

The middle and affluent class (MAC) in Vietnam will double in size between now and 2020, from 12 million to 33 million consumers, a survey of the Boston Consulting Group has found.

The Philippine government expects corn production to hit a new record level in 2014, after rising more than a tenth this year.

A senior trade official has hailed 2013 as a successful year for Vietnamese exporters in general, especially those ship goods to the US.

Vietnamese world No 10 ranked Nguyen Tien Minh will compete at the upcoming Victor Korean Open badminton tournament in Seoul.

Toyota Japan’s luxury Lexus brand has officially debuted in Ho Chi Minh City on December 26, adding a new member to Vietnam’s high-end car market.

Thailand ’s Election Commission (EC) on December 26 suggested the government postpone the general election slated for February 2, 2014 to prevent the escalation of the political conflict.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Cambodian counterpart Samdech Techo Hun Sen showed strong will to elevate Vietnam-Cambodia friendship and multi-faceted cooperation to new heights in the coming time during their talks in Hanoi on December 26.

The supply of seafood in Vietnam is expected to fall considerably in the near future because of rising fuel prices and bad weather.

The northern mountainous provinces have been urged to take prompt action to protect crops and livestock from a cold snap which is forecast to hit the region in the evening of December 26.

As many as 185 children from Phuoc The Kindergarten, between one and five years old, have been admitted to hospital for cases of suspected food poisoning.

The debate may be raging over whether the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar should be switched to the winter, but the local organisers are content with sticking to the original summer dates.

Auto sales in HCM City are likely to dip this month because many customers are waiting for a registration fee cut to come into effect from January 1, 2014.

Residents around Sin Quyen copper mine in the northern province of Lao Cai have blamed mining operations for years of recurrent air pollution in the area.