VIETNAM TODAY

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English has said the New Zealand government will continue providing official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam at a steady level.

By the end of 2012, Vietnam had 9.5 million landline subscribers, 131.6 million mobile phone and almost 4.8 million broadband internet users.

A tropical depression on September 17 strengthened into a storm which is moving towards the central coast of Vietnam, according to national weather experts.

Western powers were poised Tuesday to press their efforts for a UN resolution to rid Syria of chemical weapons, one day after a report by the world body describing a "chilling" sarin gas attack there.

Petrolimex’s pre-tax profit in its fuel trading in the first half of this year has drawn some scepticism but, a firm official stood by the figure.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan on September 16 toured a number of universities in Moscow to examine the possibility of increasing cooperation in various areas, especially education, science and technology.

Vietnamese and French scientists have discovered a new species of scorpion in the northern mountainous province of Bac Kan, according to the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources.

Tourists from the US are the biggest spenders in Vietnam, followed by those from the Republic of Korean and Australia, according to the Vietnam Tourist Outlook by Visa International.

A Chinese hospital's request for blood from healthy female virgins for use in medical research has been condemned as insulting to women, state-run media has just reported.

The Ministry of Information and Communications is expected to formally restructure the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group this month, according to Minister Nguyen Bac Son.

The Vietnam Creativity Association, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, has been set up in Hanoi.

Rescue workers have continued searching for the remaining 7 missing aboard a Vietnamese sunken boat after a September 16 collision with Singapore’s cargo ship Sima Saphire in the waters off Vung Tau coast.

The FBI is asking the public for help in determining why a former Navy reservist opened fire early Monday at the Washington Navy Yard, killing at least 12 people before he was shot dead by police.

Vietnam attaches great importance to developing close ties of friendship and multifaceted cooperation with its traditional friends, including Hungary.

Turning away from modern toys and noisy places, many Vietnamese parents are trying to hold the Mid-autumn Festival in a traditional way for their children.

The Deputy Minister of Health says that their staff quality problems are the fault of lax management by the Ministry of Education and Training.

Striker Van Toan’s hat-trick earned Vietnam another win over Myanmar on September 16, maintaining their winning streak at the ongoing ASEAN U19 Youth Football Championship in Indonesia.

Clean technology from Sweden is expected to help Vietnam reduce environment pollution, save energy and cut down on business expenses, the deputy director of HCM City Department of Natural Resources and Environment said.

Nearly six thousand people have fled their homes on Indonesia's Sumatra island after a huge volcanic eruption at the weekend, officials said, as the volcano belched out more smoke Monday.